Technology 411 for Back to SchoolA Parent Survival GuideToday, I’m going to share with you some time savers, some money savers, and hopefully, some sanity savers. If you see something you like, you don’t need to write it down. All of the websites are available on my wiki. The address for the wiki is on your handout.

Times have changed a lot since we were in school. Does this sound familiar? I don’t get the new Math!What ever happened to “borrowing and carrying.”

Does this look familiar? It’s 6:00 p.m. You’ve just gotten home from work. “Mom! I need help with my algebra! They have free tutoring at the public library.” Did you jump for joy? Or did you say, “You mean I have to get back in the car?”

And you’re thinking, “I Don’t have time to take you to the library for Tutoring after I get home from Work! What if your child said, “That’s okay, Mom. It’s all web-based. They have real tutors, ready to help! Just click!” And it really is that easy!”

The Ouachita Parish PublicLibrary is a great resource for your child’s educational needs. It’s a virtual one-stop shopping for homework help and online resources. All you need is a library card—which is free—no kidding! On the homepage of the library, there is a link toward the bottom of the page for “Homework Louisiana.org.”

The tutors and students “talk” by typing in real-time. Rather like texting.

They will give homework assistance. They won’t do it for you. They will even go over an essay and make suggestions.

The Skills Center Resource Library has HomeworkResources withthousands of lesson worksheets, study guides and videos to help you. The Test Prep Resources: Prepare for the SAT, ACT, standardized tests in all 50 states, graduate school entrance tests, civil service, GED, and much more.

Test PrepHigh School ExamsCollege Exams—including CLEP testsMicrosoft ExamsGraduate ExamsCivil Service and many others

Has this ever happened to you before? “Hi, Mom! Welcome home! My report is due tomorrow! We can’t use Google or Wikipedia.”

Select “Database Links” on Home PageSelect “CLICK HERE FOR OUR SUBSCRIPTION DATA BASE LINKS”Enter the barcode from you public library card—Which is FREE!

Ouachita Parish Public Library Databases Select EBSCOhost Web

Primary Searchprovides full text for more than 70 popular, magazines for elementary school research.Middle Search Plusprovides full text for more than 140 popular, middle school magazines.MAS Ultra - School Edition:Designed specifically for high school libraries, this database contains full text for nearly 500 popular, high school magazines.

Not Just for Kids! Are any of you “Do it Yourselfers?” Are you married to a Do-It-Yourself-er?Home Improvement Reference CenterAuto Repair Reference CenterSmall EnginesHobbies and CraftsConsumer Health Complete

Free iPhone and iPad app available through iTunesOr use Mobile version if you don’t have an “i” device.

World Book Online:This is not the World Book of your childhood. Ouachita Parish SchoolsAccess through school library page on EdLinePrint informationLinks to selected websitesVideoImages

Mobile App ($0.99) Almost FreeCreate accountScan ISBN number on bookQuick Cite creates the citation Emails it to you

FACT #1: Most students have a printerFACT #2: The printer is usually out of order or out of ink.FACT #3: USB Drives fail

Need an email account and a password to set up a Dropbox account.Download dropbox to your home computer.Creates a folder in “My Documents” named “My Dropbox.” Windows 7: Creates separate “Dropbox” folderCreates a shortcut on your desktop.Save your document or project in “My Dropbox.”From school, go to “Dropbox.com” A login screen will appear in the upper right corner. Login with email address &amp; password. Open document and print. Or work on it, edit, make changes, and save. It will automatically synch with the copy on your home computer. No matter where you work on it, all copies are updated and synched. Works on Smart Phones &amp; iPads.

GoogleDocs: Document, Presentation, Spreadsheet, Form, Drawing, Collections Big Advantage: You can log into Google from any computer to access your documents, share and collaborate online. Also, you can import a Word Document, Excel Spreadsheet, etc., into Google for accessibility.

One of the things I am usually always asked about at Open House at my school is, “Do you know of any free word processing programs that we can use on our home computers?”1. OpenOffice:5 Components: Writer, Calc, Base, Impress, Math and Draw2. AbiWords: Word proccessing; interface looks almost identical to Word.ALL of these will open a Word Document3. Microsoft has a student/teacher version of Microsoft Office (Word PPT, Excel) for around $200.00 as opposed to the full version.

Cyberbullying &amp; Internet Safety alone could take an entire session—and we don’t have time. However, on the wiki, I have added a page of resources for parents and students. Common Sense: Standing Up, Not Standing ByiKeepSafe.orgNetSmartzThey are all excellent resources for keeping our children and teens safe.

The Lagniappe page on the wiki has resources for both elementary students and older students. I’ve included a little bit of everything—Learning activities, reading and math activities, etc. I will continue to add to this page throughout the school year.

8.
HomeworkLA.org• May be used anonymously or create an account• Tutors are screened, have had background checks• Knowledgeable in their field (not college students)

9.
How to Connect• STEP 1: Complete the pre-session survey questions to help the tutor know what you need help with today.• STEP 2: Remember to include your question. You can type it, draw it in the whiteboard area, or share a file.• STEP 3: Click “Connect” and you’ll connect to a tutor in the Online Classroom.